Northern Thailand News

Northern Thailand news, Chiang Mai news, business, tourism, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and travel insights from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Northern Thailand news source.

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  • Bus crash: 1 dead, 46 women injured in Phetchabun tour bus flip | Thaiger

    Bus crash: 1 dead, 46 women injured in Phetchabun tour bus flip

    A shocking highway crash in Phetchabun province saw a tour bus flip leaving 46 passengers injured and the driver dead. The crash occurred in the Nam Nao district of the northern province on Sunday at about 3.30pm. Police are still investigating what caused the crash. The double-decker bus was travelling on Highway 12 when the crash occurred. It was a…

  • District in northeast Thailand organising two-month long “Christmas Festival” | Thaiger

    District in northeast Thailand organising two-month long “Christmas Festival”

    Do you ever wish Christmas lasted longer? Well, your wish might come true if you visit one district in northeast Thailand. Phu Ruea district in Loei province will soon hold the “Christmas Festival” at the Phu Ruea Christmas Courtyard, at the entrance to the Phu Ruea National Park. The festival will be held from November 25 until January 31. The opening…

  • Road 3 in Nan: a picturesque new tourist spot | Thaiger

    Road 3 in Nan: a picturesque new tourist spot

    We’ve all taken long road trips to get to a cool tourist attraction. But what if the road is the attraction? In the Nan province, a scenic patch of roadway called Road 3 is becoming a popular and very photogenic tourist destination. Highway 1081 cut through the beautiful hillsides of the northern province connecting the Bo Kluea district to the…

  • Crane driver electrocuted in freak N Thailand accident | Thaiger

    Crane driver electrocuted in freak N Thailand accident

    A crane driver was electrocuted and two others injured when hoist lines from the truck crane’s boom touched a live electricity transmission wire at the roadside in Nong Bua Rawe district, Chaiyaphum province, northeastern Thailand. The tragedy happened at 3pm yesterday on the Nong Bua Rawe – Phakdi Chumphol Road in tambon Nong Bua Rawe. The driver was electrocuted when…

  • Thai cuckold left penniless after wife runs off with lover and 6 million baht lottery prize | Thaiger

    Thai cuckold left penniless after wife runs off with lover and 6 million baht lottery prize

    A Thai cuckold has been left penniless after his wife ran off with her lover and his 6 million baht lottery winnings and there is nothing he can do about getting his money back. Manit (surname reserved), a resident of the Isaan province of Roi Et, scooped the 6 million baht lottery winning first prize on November 1. The 49…

  • Lush lotus flowers in Northern Thai province draw tourists | Thaiger

    Lush lotus flowers in Northern Thai province draw tourists

    Lush pink lotus flowers in one northern Thai province are drawing tourists to the area. Bueng Boraphet, a lake and swamp in Nakhon Sawan province, currently has lotuses covering an area of over 100 rai. A staffer at the Bueng Boraphet Wildlife Sanctuary Office said the lotuses have been blooming since early this month. The staffer said the lotuses are…

  • Northeast Thai teen dies after falling from building | Thaiger

    Northeast Thai teen dies after falling from building

    A teenager in northeast Thailand tragically died after falling from his school’s building on November 10. Thai media reported that this recent death came after a few similar cases in Nakhon Ratchasima province this year. The teenager who died was a 14 year old boy. His body was found on the ground next to the school building in the main…

  • High hotel occupancy in northern Thai province as golden flowers bloom | Thaiger

    High hotel occupancy in northern Thai province as golden flowers bloom

    There’s been a high hotel occupancy in Thailand’s northern province of Mae Hong Son now that its signature golden flowers are in bloom. The provincial tourism office chief said that hotels and resorts are reporting up to 75% occupancy. This, he said, is a much higher occupancy rate than the rates seen during other times of the year. Tourists are…

  • Pickup driver faces 100,000 baht fine for angering elephant | Thaiger

    Pickup driver faces 100,000 baht fine for angering elephant

    An impatient pickup driver faces a fine of up to 100,000 baht after annoying a wild elephant while driving in the Khao Yai National Park in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima or Korat. Last Friday, November 5, the Facebook page and YouTube channel, “Wild Animals at Khao Yai (สัตว์ป่าเขาใหญ่)” posted a video of a pickup car provoking a wild…

  • Body of Thai woman from Korea stampede returned to family | Thaiger

    Body of Thai woman from Korea stampede returned to family

    After the tragic stampede at a Halloween event in Seoul, Korea, the body of the Thai woman who died in the crush has been returned to her family in Thailand. Natthicha Makaew was a teacher who had been studying the Korean language before she was crushed in the Halloween stampede in Itaewon. The 27 year old studied to be certified…

  • Chiang Rai doctor suspended over ‘stupid’ argument | Thaiger

    Chiang Rai doctor suspended over ‘stupid’ argument

    A doctor at Chiang Saen Hospital in Chiang Rai province has been suspended and is facing an investigation from the Medical Council of Thailand after a loud argument with a patient. Hospital director Sookchai Theansavettrakul explained the problem stemmed from miscommunication between the doctor, the patient and her relatives. Sookchai said the hospital had suspended the doctor for five days pending…

  • Monk on the run – Police seek abbot over sex offences, theft | Thaiger

    Monk on the run – Police seek abbot over sex offences, theft

    Police are hunting the deputy abbot of a temple on the Lao border in connection with alleged sexual assaults on teenage novices and the disappearance of more than 1 million baht (US$26,000) from the temple’s bank account. Pol Maj Gen Piyapan Pattarapongsin, commander of Nan provincial police, said an arrest warrant for Thanet Thanamangkhalo had been issued involving charges of…

  • Hornbills fly again over Lampang Chae Son | Thaiger

    Hornbills fly again over Lampang Chae Son

    Absent from Thailand’s northern forests for more than 20 years, a pair of great hornbills have been released into Lampang Chae, Son National Park. The release was described by the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO) director Attaporn Srihayrun as only the first batch of birds that the organisation plans to return to the wild. The ZPO first bred great hornbills in…

  • Mother seeks help after 14 year old daughter turns to prostitution | Thaiger

    Mother seeks help after 14 year old daughter turns to prostitution

    A Thai mother turned to the Social Development and Human Security Ministry (M-Society) and police for help after learning that her 14-year-old half-Thai, half-British daughter turned to prostitution. The 50 year old Naruemon (surname reserved) informed the Department of Special Investigation that her daughter, Nadia (alias) ran away from home in the Isaan province of Udon Thani on October 10.…

  • Drivers return nearly 100,000 baht found on road to owner | Thaiger

    Drivers return nearly 100,000 baht found on road to owner

    Dozens of benevolent car drivers and their passengers helped a woman gather 100,000 baht that blew away after it was left on the roadside by an absent-minded employee in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen. A Thai TikTok user, Sutasinee Buachaban, posted a video of drivers parking their cars and gathering 1,000 baht banknotes that were scattered on the road.…

  • A naked burglar robs 8 houses & tries to rape a young girl | Thaiger

    A naked burglar robs 8 houses & tries to rape a young girl

    A naked burglar is on the run after he was spotted on CCTV cameras robbing eight houses and allegedly trying to rape a 12 year old girl in the Isaan province of Sisaket. Aek Danairit, the owner of a house in the Baan Na Nuan community in the Huay Thap Than district of Sisaket, reported to the police that a…

  • Tono raises 40 million baht in charity swim across Mekong | Thaiger

    Tono raises 40 million baht in charity swim across Mekong

    How much money would it take for you to swim across the Mekong? For actor-singer superstar Pakin “Tono” Kumwilaisak it was 40 million baht – the amount he raised for a charity swim yesterday. The generous celebrity took to the waters in Nakhon Phanom to swim across the mighty Mekong and land in Laos after a journey of over 1…

  • Grand scam – Beware of fake banknotes circulating in Udon Thani | Thaiger

    Grand scam – Beware of fake banknotes circulating in Udon Thani

    Police are warning the public against counterfeit 1,000-baht banknotes that have been found circulating in the sweaty expat paradise of Udon Thani province. Police spokesman Pol Maj Gen Archayon Kraithong said there had been several reports of counterfeit bills in the province. Two cases were posted to social media, the first involving a barbecue restaurant and another at a grocery…

  • Locals search for missing crocs in northeast Thailand | Thaiger

    Locals search for missing crocs in northeast Thailand

    Residents of northeast Thailand’s Khon Kaen province are on the hunt for a pair of missing crocodiles in the main city district. The two missing crocs are part of a group of four that went missing from a flood-stricken farm. A team of locals led by the headman of Nong Tum sub-district found one croc in a paddy field earlier…

  • Prayut sets “drug free” goal for Thai province where massacre happened | Thaiger

    Prayut sets “drug free” goal for Thai province where massacre happened

    Thailand’s PM Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday set a goal for the northeastern Nong Bua Lamphu province, where the horrific October 6 massacre happened, to become “drug free” within 30 days. A government spokesperson told the Associated Press that Prayut had ordered relevant agencies to implement measures related to drug abuse and trading. Agencies have been instructed to monitor several areas of…

  • Storm Sonca to hit today, if not already here | Thaiger

    Storm Sonca to hit today, if not already here

    The Meteorological Department (TMD) issued a warning to people in the northeast, east and central regions of the country to brace themselves for heavy rain as Tropical Storm Sonca hits Thailand today. The storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds to several provinces in the Northeast including Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, and Ubon Ratchathani. The weather guys also warned…

  • Drug dealer killed in shootout after high-speed chase | Thaiger

    Drug dealer killed in shootout after high-speed chase

    A shootout between Royal Thai Police, army troops, and drug dealers led to one death, an arrest, and 4 million methamphetamine pills seized in a breath-taking, high-speed chase in Chiang Rai last night. Pha Muang Task Force narcotics suppression police and soldiers, tried to pull over a pickup truck with fake Chiang Rai licence plates at a road checkpoint at…

  • Ubon Ratchathani Zoo closed due to floods | Thaiger

    Ubon Ratchathani Zoo closed due to floods

    Thailand has been battered by heavy rains and flooding throughout the nation. In Ubon Ratchathani, the zoo had to close for the foreseeable future due to floods. While the rainwaters persist, officials at the zoo assure the approximately 600 animals living there are safe. The director of the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand said that there’s enough food to take…

  • Missing boat racers found dead in northeast Thailand | Thaiger

    Missing boat racers found dead in northeast Thailand

    UPDATE The three boat racers who went missing in northeast Thailand after their boat capsized on Sunday have been found dead. Two bodies were found at the foot of the Tum Lam Chi bridge in Maha Sarakham’s main city district. They were about 4 kilometres away from where the boat crashed into a pillar of the bridge. A fisherman found…

  • 3 boat racers missing in NE Thailand after boat capsizes | Thaiger

    3 boat racers missing in NE Thailand after boat capsizes

    Three boat racers went missing in Thailand’s northeast province of Maha Sarakham on Sunday. The In-Plaeng boat capsized when it hit a pillar of the Tha Tum Lam Chi bridge, just after it had passed the finish line. There were 40 people on the boat altogether. Another boat came to help, but three oarsmen were missing from the boat that…

  • 5 survivors of northeast Thailand massacre on road to recovery | Thaiger

    5 survivors of northeast Thailand massacre on road to recovery

    Five survivors of the horrific daycare centre massacre in northeast Thailand last week are on the road to recovery. These include three children and two adults. Four of the survivors are in intensive care units at Nong Bua Lam Phu Hospital, while one is at Udon Thani Hospital. One boy, Kanpong Suana, or Nong Kan, is moving after he underwent…

  • Flooding in Ubon Ratchathani province is dangerous | Thaiger

    Flooding in Ubon Ratchathani province is dangerous

    Thai media today reported the flood situation in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani is deadly serious and dangerous. The flood situation in Ubon Ratchathani is getting worse said reports. The water level is quickly increasing and almost the whole province is affected. Agricultural areas, roads, and bridges have been destroyed while some houses are underwater. Yesterday, one of the…

  • British man & wife gives 50,000 baht to massacre victims | Thaiger

    British man & wife gives 50,000 baht to massacre victims

    A philanthropic British man and his Thai wife donated 50,000 baht to support the victims of the daycare centre massacre in the northeastern province of Nong Bua Lamphu. Joseph Nice, his Thai wife Nipaporn, and two year old child visited the help centre in the Na Klang district of Nong Bua Lamphu province yesterday to make their contribution. Nipaporn told the…

  • CNN to be prosecuted for invasive daycare massacre coverage | Thaiger

    CNN to be prosecuted for invasive daycare massacre coverage

    [UPDATE: Thai news source CatDumb Has reported on Facebook that police have now taken two reporters and a photographer from CNN immigration to have their visas revoked. It was suggested that they did not have the correct type of paperwork and were using a tourist visa instead of a work visa. At any rate, police informed the Immigration Department about…

  • Phuket and Chon Buri Governors enact school safety measures | Thaiger

    Phuket and Chon Buri Governors enact school safety measures

    Following the tragic daycare centre massacre in Nong Bua Lamphu, governors around Thailand are legislating tougher safety measures. They hope to prevent the next extreme incident before it can happen. Both Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew and Chon Buri Governor Thawatchai Srithong signed orders to put strict protocols into place. The mass shooting that spurred the governors to action took place…